Chapter 131
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 131
Chapter Title: Haneul Clinic's Shadow
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Shin Heeju's mother had barely finished speaking when my face involuntarily stiffened.
Haneul Clinic again? What the hell was wrong with that place? Were they just blindly opening branches without any oversight?
"Heeju, time for your acupuncture~."
I'd sent Shin Heeju to the treatment room first for her digestive issues.
After finishing the consultation with her guardian, it was finally her turn, so I asked again.
"By the way, where did you get that diet medication prescribed?"
She and her mother seemed to have patched things up a lot, so I didn't want to stir up trouble by making her think I'd said something during the separate guardian meeting.
"Oh, the Gangnam main branch of Haneul Clinic! My friend got meds there, did some PT, and lost a ton of weight."
Shin Heeju answered readily.
......Not even a branch, but the Gangnam main branch?
Did Director Choi Eunhui prescribe meds that caused such severe side effects?
"Was the doctor maybe a middle-aged woman?"
"Oh, no. Isn't she the chief director? My friend got hers from her, but they said you need an appointment for the chief. I saw a different director. She was young and super skinny."
"Aha......"
"But the chief didn't seem that busy. I was begging for the meds, so the director I was consulting with stepped out midway? I peeked, and she was knocking on the chief director's door. Then she came back with some document, so it looked like they'd consulted."
"Document?"
"Yeah, it said something like......"
Shin Heeju had clammed up or gotten prickly when it came to questions about herself, but she spilled every detail on anything else without me even asking.
Thanks to that, I got a clear picture of what had happened.
It wasn't during the consultation, but Hwang Sanghun occasionally came to me for advice too.
This girl was clearly not someone who should take diet meds, but she insisted, so it looked like the deputy director had checked with the chief.
Click.
I logged into Haneul Clinic's website for the first time in ages and clicked on the Gangnam main branch.
Director Choi Eunhui's resume was prominently listed, with brief intros for three deputy directors.
All but one of the deputies had changed.
There was a tiny note saying consultations with the chief director required an appointment.
Bring them in first, then shunt them to a deputy? That seemed to be the play.
'Market the chief to draw patients, then pass them off to deputies......'
The total opposite of my setup.
I'd deliberately kept the chief anonymous, labeling rooms as 'Room 1' and 'Room 2' instead of 'Chief Director's Office' or 'Deputy Director's Office.' And I gave Room 1 to Hwang Sanghun.
I'd tell people if asked, but slapping 'Deputy' on it might make even oblivious folks think the chief was better.
Whatever, systems are a choice.
But stepping out mid-consult to ask and then dodging responsibility with a waiver? That was shocking.
Director Choi Eunhui must have instructed it.
......Would she have caused such bad side effects if she'd taken full responsibility for the prescription?
Dieting itself was an issue, but she could've mitigated the side effects to some degree.
No, thinking about it, even Chu Mi-young hadn't known what she was prescribing.
The prescribing doctor might not have known the full composition either, just handing out 'Phase 1, Phase 2' or whatever.
- See you next time.
I'd grabbed my phone in a huff, but paused at the faint echo of Choi Eunhui's voice in my mind.
It was what she'd said when we met in Daegu.
I'd had a feeling we'd clash again.
'Don't give her ammo.'
She was still my senior, after all.
This wasn't like that doctor who'd misdiagnosed shingles and blamed acupuncture.
Instead of snapping, I needed to inquire politely.
Calming down, I searched for her email.
Not on the site, but one was listed in a paper from a few years back.
Send a polite inquiry first; if no reply, call the clinic and have staff relay it.
[Do your deputies even manage the branches? Why hide the prescription like it's some trade secret anyone would steal? It's not hard to tweak dosages, so why hire doctors? If you're taking responsibility, do it right as chief, or respect individual doctors' judgment......]
Good thing I hadn't called right away.
I drafted the email, polished it into polite language, and hit send.
I added that they could reply or call, with my contact info.
The call came the very next day after I sent the email.
Honestly, I hadn't expected a real response.
Figured it'd be a perfunctory 'thanks for your input.'
- Yeowon, you've got so much passion. Must be the youth.
But Choi Eunhui texted to confirm a call time, then rang.
And her opener was pure sarcasm.
What? By actual age, I'm not that young.
- Your email put a smile on my face. Took me back to my passionate days.
Sarcasm queen.
"Right. You must've been way more passionate than me back then. Haneul Clinic was a specialized network for intractable skin diseases. You did tons of volunteer work too. I thought you were this amazing doctor full of dedication and responsibility."
My treatment there hadn't been a big deal.
The old Haneul Clinic had treated atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, frostbite, burns—stuff even Western meds couldn't touch—and even been on TV.
- Heh heh, wondering why I fell so far?
Choi Eunhui chuckled.
"Expanding the business to see more patients and make more money is fine. But not at the cost of harming their health."
Branching into diets or cosmetic skin care? No issue.
Expanding for profit? Same.
I like money too. Fair pay is natural, and marketing to reach more patients isn't bad.
But this wasn't a case of best efforts failing or unavoidable side effects.
Handing out meds you know will cause 100% side effects, then scheming ways to duck blame? That's different.
- Why do you think it's harming health?
"Would diet meds help an anorexia patient?"
But Choi Eunhui was brazen.
So brazen, for a split second I wondered if they'd given treatment meds labeled as diet ones and I was overreacting.
- If we hadn't given her meds, where do you think she'd go?
But her smirking follow-up was...
- Another clinic, or Western meds for butterfly meds? Better herbal diet than psychotropics, right?
Utterly absurd.
- Think I haven't seen girls like her once or twice? They won't listen anyway. Wherever they go, they'll get appetite suppressants and live that way. Might as well make some money. It's not like we're hurting their health anew.
I hated that mindset.
'If someone's gonna screw them over, might as well be me.'
Every time I saw patients mangled by unnecessary surgeries that could've been treatable otherwise, rage boiled up.
To hear that from someone I'd once admired...
"But talking worked. Shin Heeju's recovering. You didn't even meet her—why arbitrarily judge and block her chance at treatment?"
I didn't expect my words to change her on the spot.
- Oh, really? Glad it worked out.
As expected, Choi Eunhui oozed confidence.
- Lucky her, meeting a passionate young director like you.
Basically declaring I'd end up like her eventually.
"No point saying more; it won't get through. ......Can't even hold you legally accountable without that waiver."
I heard her chuckling.
"I won't end up like you. And I'll make sure no one steps foot in places that treat patients that way."
- My, I knew you weren't ordinary, but this is a new kind of challenge. Looking forward to it.
Choi Eunhui hung up with a leisurely laugh.
Talking to her—no, even thinking about her now—left me unsettled.
How had she changed like that? Or had she always been this way?
Even when treating intractables and expanding, it probably wasn't pure mission. Wanted to treat lots, make bank.
'Capitalism's bright and dark sides......'
Patients from back then got treated thanks to that greed.
And now...
'She thinks she hasn't crossed the line.'
I wanted to stop her.
'What can I do?'
One doctor badmouthing a network? Backlash city.
I'd seen it in Daegu.
Buried issues would blow up from the patient side eventually.
'Just expand my own business the same way?'
What I could do was...
Me and like-minded directors seeing as many patients as possible.
Offer alternatives.
'Once Heeju's fully recovered, ask if I can anonymize and share her case. Branch 4's NewTube views are solid. If even one less patient touches suppressants, good.'
The interior work on the third floor started right as the academy tenants moved out.
Should be usable by mid-next month.
I texted Lee Areum first.
She'd strongly pitched wanting to work at our clinic last time.
If her feelings held, start with observation and prep; if not, post a job ad for another doctor.
"Whew, good work today!"
Workload was the same, but all the thinking had worn me out extra.
I headed home a bit earlier than usual.
'Huh?'
But a huge pile of grass was stacked in front of my door.
"What the...?"
The clinic had grown big, but I hadn't moved.
My place was the same one-room building I'd rented when first coming to Busan.
Security was iffy.
The first-floor door stayed wide open all day.
Still, who pulls a prank like this?
"Gotta clear it first."
I unlocked the door to grab a bag.
But as I approached the grass pile to punch in the code, a strange energy hit me.
"What?"
Something inside?
I brushed the covering grass aside, revealing an imposing root.
"......Someone covered it so it wouldn't get taken?"
It was He Shou Wu.
And not ordinary stuff.
Faint spiritual energy emanated from it.
From Busan? Who brought it, and from where?
Not on the level of 10,000-Year He Shou Wu, but no one casually tosses something like this as a prank.
Who on earth...
Suddenly, the azure flying squirrel came to mind.
"Nah. Even a spirit beast wouldn't track me home and drop this off, right?"